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NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Top 20 Point Earners in Close Race

Though the playoffs for the 2010 Stanley Cup have just begun, a hard battle is already being fought over dominance in the league. The top twenty point takers have already begun to establish themselves, with the leading two out performing the remainder of the competition.

Currently, Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, and Nicklas Backstrom are currently in the lead. Backstrom holds the third place position despite having played one game less than the top two. Some players have not been performing as expected, both in the spectrum of good and bad.

After the fourth game of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, Sidney Crosby holds a dominant point lead in the League. Holding 4 goals and 7 assists, Crosby is leading the league with 11 points. Two goals and two assists came in the fourth game against the Ottawa Senators, a game in which the Penguins managed to take a whopping 7 points over the Senators, setting franchise history with their five point second period.

Henrik Zetterberg of the Red Wings may not be leading the league in points, but he is holding a slight lead in goal scoring. Holding 5 goals this early in the playoffs, he is up on his closest four competitors by a goal. Zetterberg also has two assists to his name, rounding him off at 7 points in the playoffs. He is expected to improve throughout the remainder of the playoffs.

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Just behind Crosby and Zetterberg lies Nicklas Backstrom, center for the Washington Capitals. Backstrom is running with six points, tied with four players behind him, but his four goals in three games is what sets him apart from the rest.

Honorable mention goes to Sergei Gonchar for his six assists, Matt Cullen for leading the Senators in points, and Ilya Kovalchuk for maintaining six points despite the Devil’s continuous struggle with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Some unexpected underachievers are found in Alexander Ovechkin, who has only clocked in five points in three games, falling heavily short of rival Sidney Crosby, as well as Zach Parise, who holds four points along with many in the top forty.

Where the Conn Smythe will end up at the end of the playoffs is still an indeterminable. The top point makers may have their leads now, but being that the playoffs are still in the earliest hours, anything can happen. Currently, the race is so close that online sportsbooks do not have odds on the Conn Smythe Trophy.